Wells Fargo Targets EMV

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo announced all of the new commercial cards it issues will feature microprocessor chips compliant with EMV standards.

The bank said its WellsOne cards will retain a magnetic stripe to facilitate general acceptance in the U.S. market, and the EMV-enabled cards are being offered so cardholders can shop with merchants that employ EMV payment systems throughout the world and in the US. In addition, Wells Fargo has begun migrating all of its existing cardholders over in advance of the October 2015 deadline in the United States.

EMV, the global technology standard for credit and debit card payments named after its original developers (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), features cards with embedded microprocessor chips that store and protect encrypted account user data, in contrast to the magnetic strip cards now used mostly in the U.S.

Wells Fargo also announced today it has expanded its commercial card portfolio to Europe by offering a new "European Commercial Card." Supported by MasterCard, the Wells Fargo European Commercial Card can be used in 37 million outlets worldwide, the bank said.

[Related Content: MasterCard, Visa Team Up on EMV Chip Technology]

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio